Proxemics literature is synthesized and placed in a theoretical framework based on norms and expectations. Two major and three subordinate propositions are supported, and a model for predicting effects of violations of proxemic expectations is advanced. A sample of hypotheses generated from the model is included.In recent years, an abundance of speculation, observation, and research on proxemic behavior has come forth. A great deal of attention has been given to such concerns as identifying personal spacing norms, examining human parallels to the use of space by animals, theorizing on the origins of human proxemic behavior, and analyzing the effects of spatial changes. More attention is also being focused on the manipulation of space as a communicative act. However, no effort has been made to integrate systematically knowledge about how space is used as communication and its subsequent effects on communication outcomes. This paper is an effort to supply such a communication perspective, to offer an initial conceptual framework within which the relationship between manipulation of space and communication can be better understood.We have confined our focus to personal space since it appears to be most amenable to manipulation for communication purposes. Personal space refers to the inviolable volume of space that surrounds an individual. It is an invisible, dynamic, and transportable space the size of which is governed by the individual's felt need at any point in time. We are interested in how much personal space people claim during communicative interactions and how alterations in the distancing patterns affect the outcomes.Since we are interested in the communication potential of such behaviors, we need to clarify what we mean by communication. The definition offered by Burgoon and Saine (in press) is consistent with our view. They define those nonverbal behaviors as communication which are either intentionally encoded as messages or have the potential to be interpreted by a receiver as intentional. They need not be symbolic-which space manipulation is not-but they must have shared meaning and have the potential for aresponse by the receiver. Behaviors that are not consciously committed and are either not consciously perceived or are interpreted as unintentional by the receiver do not qualify. Spacing behaviors, then, to be communication must be consciously recognized and viewed as a message by at least one of the participants.It is the contention of the authors that the communicative functions and effects of spatial relationships can best be viewed within the context of expectations and violations of expectations. The concept of violations of expectations has successfully explained other communication effects such as attitudinal shifts due to level of language intensity (e.g., Burgoon & Chase, 1973). To illustrate the viability of this framework for explaining spacing behaviors, we will develop some propositional statements about the nature of expectations and variables influencing the effects of violations of ...

Scientists have predicted that carbon's immediate neighbors on the periodic chart, boron and nitrogen, may also form perfect nanotubes, since the advent of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 1991. First proposed then synthesized by researchers at UC Berkeley in the mid 1990's, the boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) has proven very difficult to make until now. Herein we provide an update on a catalyst-free method for synthesizing highly crystalline, small diameter BNNTs with a high aspect ratio using a high power laser under a high pressure and high temperature environment first discovered jointly by NASA/NIA/JSA. Progress in purification methods, dispersion studies, BNNT mat and composite formation, and modeling and diagnostics will also be presented. The white BNNTs offer extraordinary properties including neutron radiation shielding, piezoelectricity, thermal oxidative stability (> 800˚C in air), mechanical strength, and toughness. The characteristics of the novel BNNTs and BNNT polymer composites and their potential applications are discussed.

Norepinephrine modulates the inflammatory and proliferative phases of wound healing in a temporally defined, cell-specific manner. By increasing recruitment of innate immune cells and expediting wound closure, norepinephrine appears to play a protective role in defense against infection.

Based on accumulated knowledge concerning the effects of language intensity on attitude change, a set of propositions were advanced that provide a skeletal theoretical framework. Based on the propositions, three separate studies were done to extend the predictive power of the formulation. Predicted interactions between sex of the source, situational anxiety, source credibility, and language intensity were obtained. There were also significant person perception changes as a result of the level of language intensity employed in the persuasive message. Discussion centered on the import of the new findings in formulating a message-centered theory of persuasion.Development of theories of communication has been generally impeded by the tendency of researchers to borrow constructs, models, and theories fromother disciplines. Although in the early days of "experimental public address" research, the borrowing of theories from social psychology was useful in giving direction to research, many now question the utility of that approach. Communication scholars are urging empirical researchers to properly define communication in a restricted way, to center on message variables, and to be as concerned with theory development now as they have been with research methodology in the past.If theory development is to occur, the domain of that theory must include as.unique elements message variables. Rhetorical theorists have long included such variables as critical elements in their investigations. Behavioral scientists have been slower in developing message-related research. There are probably several reasons for that reticence. First, the bulk of published empirical research in communication is concerned with but one function of communication: persuasion. Models from other disciplines (e.g., cognitive dissonance, social judgment, various learning theory models, etc.) were readily available. Most of these models are "input-output" oriented. An input (usually some persuasive message) is operated on by some psychological mechanism(s) (dissonance, learning, etc.) to produce some output. The typical persuasion paradigm has been the manipulation or control of some source, situation, or receiver variable, the presentation or lack of presentation of an uncontrolled but constant message, and the measurement of attitude change.Persuasive messages are rarely systematically produced nor their effects explained. If hypotheses are not confirmed, the researcher does not know if the message was ineffective or if his theory is invalid. The psychological models put a premium on studying situations (e.g., the counterattitudinal advocacy paradigm), source and personality variables, and receiver correlates of attitude change. The models in general do not depend on message variables for their predictive power.A second reason for researchers avoiding message variables is the difficulty in operationalizing the constructs. With relative ease, a researcher can factor analyze adjectives describing a source and create something called "credibility" to repl...

The neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE) binds to the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) expressed on various immune cells to influence cell homing, proliferation, and function. Previous reports showed that NE stimulation of the B cell β2AR is necessary for the maintenance of an optimal primary and secondary Th2 cell-dependent Ab response in vivo. In the present study we investigated the mechanism by which activation of Ag-specific CD4+ Th2 cells and B cells in vivo by a soluble protein Ag increases NE release in the spleen and bone marrow. Our model system used scid mice that were reconstituted with a clone of keyhole limpet hemocyanin-specific Th2 cells and trinitrophenyl-specific B cells. Following immunization, the rate of NE release in the spleen and bone marrow was determined using [3H]NE turnover analysis. Immunization of reconstituted scid mice with a cognate Ag increased the rate of NE release in the spleen and bone marrow 18–25 h, but not 1–8 h, following immunization. In contrast, immunization of mice with a noncognate Ag had no effect on the rate of NE release at any time. The cognate Ag-induced increase in NE release was partially blocked by ganglionic blockade with chlorisondamine, suggesting a role for both pre- and postganglionic signals in regulating NE release. Thus, activation of Ag-specific Th2 cells and B cells in vivo by a soluble protein Ag increases the rate of NE release and turnover in the spleen and bone marrow 18–25 h after immunization.

. Adrenergic modulation of splenic macrophage cytokine release in polymicrobial sepsis.

Association between the nervous and immune system is well documented. Immune cells originate within the bone marrow that is innervated. Thermal injury induces adrenergic stimulation, augments monocytopoiesis and alters the β-adrenergic receptor (AR) profile of bone marrow monocyte committed progenitors. This provides an impetus to study AR expression in hematopoietic progenitors along myeloid lineage. Using FACS analysis and confocal microscopy, we report the expression of α1-, α2-and β2-AR in enriched populations of ER-MP20+ and ER-MP12+ myeloid progenitors, CD117+ and CD34+ multi-potential progenitors and more importantly pluripotent stem cells suggesting a plausible role for catecholamine in hematopoietic development.

Nitric oxide (NO) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) has been use to investigate the hypersonic flow over a flat plate with and without a 2-mm (0.08-in) radius hemispherical trip. In the absence of the trip, for all angles of attack and two different Reynolds numbers, the flow was observed to be laminar and mostly steady. Boundary layer thicknesses based on the observed PLIF intensity were measured and compared with a CFD computation, showing agreement. The PLIF boundary layer thickness remained constant while the NO flowrate was varied by a factor of 3, indicating non-perturbative seeding of NO. With the hemispherical trip in place, the flow was observed to be laminar but unsteady at the shallowest angle of attack and lowest Reynolds number and appeared vigorously turbulent at the steepest angle of attack and highest Reynolds number. Laminar corkscrew-shaped vortices oriented in the streamwise direction were frequently observed to transition the flow to more turbulent structures.